Oreos with Peanut Butter
by Meredith Paris
Summary: Felicity Lynch is searching for her mother's birth brother.
1. What's his name?

Chapter One  
  
Felicity took the knife full of peanut butter and smeared it all over the Oreo. She shoved it all into her mouth and looked over at Abby. Abby shrugged and Felicity lifted an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Okay, okay," Abby whined, "I'll do it. I won't like it. I know it."  
  
Felicity just rolled her eyes at that and swallowed. "It's not bad. You'll like it. You are the girl who likes Cooler Ranch Doritos and veggie dip together."  
  
"I'm not the only one who likes that."  
  
"Oh yeah? Name one other person-besides your brother," Felicity added as Abby opened her mouth.  
  
"Um.you."  
  
"Me? I spit mine out, remember?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Um, okay. Who likes them? I can't think of anyone."  
  
"Duh. That's cause you're the only one who does like them."  
  
"I'm not the only one with weird eating habits. How about you and eating mac and cheese with ketchup and the whole Oreo and peanut butter issue?"  
  
"I'm not the only one with those types of eating habits. Before you say whom, let me tell you. Mac and cheese with ketchup-your mom, Dan, and Gordon. Oreo and peanut butter-Emma, Kristy, and Alan."  
  
"Point taken. I give up."  
  
"Ha! I got you to give up! I'm good, I'm good," Felicity said as she started to do a victory dance on the bed.  
  
"Shut up," Abby said. Felicity smiled at her and sat back down. There was a moment of silence after this; Abby took in a deep breath and turned to Felicity.  
  
"Felicity, can I ask you a question?" she asked seriously.  
  
"Yeah," Felicity said, growing equally serious. "About what?"  
  
"My mom and I are worried about you. You.well, you really aren't talking about this whole situation with your mom's sibling and Ben." Felicity let out a long sigh and scooted back to lean against Abby's bed's headboard.  
  
"This whole thing. it's just, you know, bringing back my parents' accident and I don't want to go there again. and it just doesn't seem fair that I'm getting lucky to find them. I mean, there are hundreds of people out there looking for their. birth parents. and I'm just looking for either an aunt or uncle.why should I be able to find my aunt, uncle when there are people out there who deserve to find their parents? I mean. I don't know what I mean, Abby," Felicity said, and started to cry. Abby scooted over to her and wrapped her arm around Felicity.  
  
"It's okay," Abby whispered.  
  
"I don't want this to be happening! I want Ben to be all right! I want Patrice and my parents to be alive so I don't have to go through this!" Felicity said, sobbing.  
  
"It's going to be okay, Felicity," Abby said, giving her friend a fierce hug. "We're going to be there for you."  
  
"Thanks," Felicity sniffled. "You probably want to hear my latest feelings on all this, don't you?"  
  
"If you want to tell me them, then go ahead."  
  
"You really should be a psychiatrist," Felicity said, rubbing her eyes and gearing up her courage. "I really don't know what to think. I mean in this way I'll be fulfilling my mom's unspoken wish of finding her sibling and this way I'll be putting Ben's fears to rest that I'll be taken care of when he dies, but. what if the guy is a total jerk? What if he's. what if he doesn't accept me?"  
  
"If any of that happens, you can always move in with us. God knows we consider you a part of the family already."  
  
"Thanks," Felicity said as she glanced at the clock. "Man, Ben's going to kill me!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm, like, ten minutes past curfew, and it takes fifteen minutes to get home!"  
  
"You wanna do something tomorrow?"  
  
"Sure. Call me with an idea. Bye!" Felicity shouted as she flew down the steps. She tore open the door and ran to her car. She reached her car and opened it, sliding into the driver's seat and reaching for her purse. She opened it and dug around for her car keys, pulled them out and started up the car.  
  
She got home fifteen minutes later. She ran up the back steps and yanked the kitchen door open.  
  
"Ben?" she shouted, dropping her purse on the kitchen table. "I'm home. Sorry about coming home late, but I was over at Abby's and time just flew by," Felicity continued as she walked into the den.  
  
"Felicity? Is that you?" Ben's voice asked as it floated down the hall.  
  
"Yeah, where are you?"  
  
"In my office. I need to speak with you." Ben shouted. Felicity got a questioning gaze on her face as she walked out of the den and down the hall. She walked into the office and sat down on one of the chairs.  
  
"What?" she asked, drawing her legs up onto the chair and crossing them.  
  
"We have a name," Ben said. Felicity's eyes widened in shock at the news and her hands clutched the armrests in trepidation.  
  
"Wh-what is it?" she asked nervously. 


	2. Meetings with Bobby

Chapter Two:   
Three weeks later: Felicity sat down in one of the plush, overstuffed chairs in front of Ben's office desk. She clasped her hands together and started rubbing them in a useless effort to stop them from shaking.   
"Detective Robert Goren," she muttered to herself quietly, "detective first grade in the Major Case Squad of the NYPD, partner is Detective Alexandra Eames." Her muttering broke off when the door opened behind her. She glanced back at it and saw Ben. "He's not here yet?" Felicity asked Ben disappointedly. "No, he's not here. He has five more minutes," Ben said as he sat down. "I'm sure that he'll be here." "I can't do this. What if he doesn't believe us?" "We've been over this already, Felicity. We have birth certificates and documents proving our claim. Don't worry; we're going to get through this."   
"That's enough, Felicity," Ben cut in as Felicity opened her mouth. "I know that you don't want to go through this, but we need to." Ben finished speaking as his phone rang. He glanced over at Felicity, shot her a smile, and picked it up.   
"McGauran," he spoke into the receiver. He waited a moment and then spoke again. "Thanks Marcy, show him in." Ben again glanced over at Felicity, and the frogs in her stomach started jumping around again. Ben shot her another smile as the door opened.   
  
Bobby walked through the door glancing around the office. The office held a warmness that wasn't present in most attorneys' offices yet he could also feel the nervousness that pervaded the room.   
"Detective Goren?" the man asked. Bobby nodded. "I'm Benjamin McGauran. We spoke on the phone earlier this week."   
"Ah, yes. You told me you had something important to tell me?"   
"I did. This," he said, gesturing to the girl, "is my client, Felicity Lynch." The girl stood up and stuck out her hand. She gave him a slight smile. Her smile. it reminded Bobby of someone. but whom?   
"I haven't killed, kidnapped, or robbed anyone, if that's what you're wondering," Felicity said as he shook her hand. Bobby just lifted an eyebrow at this. She let go of his hand very quickly and sat back down.   
"Let's get back to business, shall we?" Ben said, pulling out some papers. Bobby sat down and noticed the glances that Felicity kept giving him. "Detective, I'm going to tell you this straight because that's the way that I deal with clients. Is that alright with you?" Bobby nodded and motioned for Ben to continue. Ben leaned towards Felicity and Bobby and glanced down at the piece of paper he held in his hand before proceeding. "Your mother had a daughter out of wedlock and the daughter was given up for adoption five years before your parents married. Your mother's daughter, your sister was adopted by Larry and Nicole Cabot. When Charlotte was twenty-seven she married Henry Lynch. They died seven years ago. Charlotte and Henry stated my wife Patrice, Henry's sister, and I as legal guardians of Felicity. Patrice died four years ago, after locating the name of the hospital where Charlotte was born. Your mother is Felicity's nearest blood related living relative but because of the fact your mother is institutionalized and in no position to take care of her granddaughter, you, Detective, you are her next nearest living relative." Ben said as he finished up his speech and leaned back into his chair. * "Believe me, Detective, this came as great as a shock to me as it is to you." Felicity said, looking at Bobby. Bobby slumped back into his chair. "M-may I see those papers?" he asked, turning his gaze back to Ben. Ben sighed and handed them to him; Bobby took them and read through them. While Bobby was reading through them, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Felicity was holding onto the armrests of the chair with a white-knuckled grip. She was staring at the floor when Bobby finally glanced over at her. "So, that would make Felicity my niece." Bobby stated. Ben nodded. "W.what was s-she like?" Bobby asked, looking over at Felicity.   
"Mom?" Felicity asked. Bobby nodded.   
"She was really, really smart. Mom always came up with these great ideas to entertain me. They were educational, most of the time, but they were so much fun. She liked to sing even though she was horrible at it. She was also a great cook." Felicity's voice trailed off after this, her thoughts shifting to her mom. Bobby now turned to Ben.   
"Why wouldn't my mom tell me about her?" Bobby wondered out loud.   
"In my experiences working with reuniting birth families, it's because at first the mother was too ashamed that she did have a baby out of wedlock. Charlotte was born in 1955 and at that time babies born out of wedlock and their mothers were looked down upon by society. After that, she might have never wanted to admit that she did have a baby and by doing that try to forget about Charlotte. Perhaps the biggest reason for your mother was that she knew that she was schizophrenic. For as many different birth mothers there are out there, there are as many different reasons why your mother didn't tell you or your father." Ben finished up.   
"Why come to me now?"   
"Because, Detective, I'm no longer able to take care of her. "What do you mean you can't take care of her?" Bobby asked. Ben sat up straighter and set his hands on the desk. He pushed his fingertips together. "I have Alzheimer's."  
  
*********************************************************************** *Just in case. ;) Kimberly Hardeman-Mark Goren = Charlotte (nee Cabot) Lynch), Robert Larry Cabot-Nicole (nee McCoy) = Charlotte Mike Schooner-Jackie nee Geiger = Henry, Patrice-aunt/legal guardian of Felicity Patrice-Benjamin McGauran= no children Charlotte-Henry Lynch = Felicity And why didn't Felicity go with Mike and Jackie or Larry and Nicole you might be asking yourself? Because of a.) Mike and Jackie had died when Felicity was two in an automobile accident. b.) Larry died when Charlotte was in her second year of college and Nicole died three months before Charlotte and Henry died. c.) The story never would have worked that way. d.) I said so, that's why!  
  
Other information: Charlotte and Henry died in an airplane crash and Patrice died from complications of brain cancer. 


	3. Discussions with Abby

Felicity handed Abby a pint of chocolate ice cream and a spoon.  
  
"A pint? There must be a lot that you need to talk about." Abby commented, taking the two away from Felicity.  
  
"No, not really. I just feel with all that's been going on in the last couple of weeks, I deserve it." Felicity said, sitting down at the kitchen table and taking a spoonful of ice cream.  
  
"So what's he like?"  
  
"Big, smart, and serious. I could tell that we shocked him speechless, though." Felicity said, standing up and getting a bottle of water from the fridge.  
  
"Anyone would be shocked speechless with the news that you presented him." Abby said, licking off her spoon.  
  
"Yeah, but I could tell that this was a first for him." Felicity said after taking a sip.  
  
"Way to go, Lissy. Anything else? Physical attributes?"  
  
"He's around six-four, black hair, brown eyes, big feet, strong yet gentle. Kinda like Hagrid."  
  
"But obviously not half-giant."  
  
"Obviously. So what did he say to Ben's news?"  
  
"Other than offering his condolences, after being shocked speechless a second time? Not much. His cell rang and he needed to leave--apparently a tip had come up that he and his partner couldn't ignore. Ben said that either he or his secretary would call to schedule a follow up meeting for one-on-one time. He left. Ben told me to go home, wait for him there and if possible get a hold of you. Clearly, I couldn't because you were on vacation."  
  
"Yeah, well, the one-on-one time ought to be delightful."  
  
"Tell me about it."  
  
"So what's your un--the guy's name?"  
  
"Abby, it's okay for you to say 'uncle'."  
  
"Didn't know what to say, since you didn't say anything."  
  
"Abby, I met the guy yesterday. You think I'm gonna call the guy 'uncle' when I don't even know him and I don't even call Ben 'uncle'?"  
  
"Good point. So what is the guy's name?"  
  
"Detective Robert Goren, but he goes by Bobby. He's a detective in the Major Case Squad."  
  
"Hmm, I'll ask Dad what he knows about him."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Anything else from what you told me?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"So when do you think I should meet him?"  
  
"I don't know! God, Abby, I only met the guy yesterday."  
  
"Geez, sorry."  
  
"It's okay. I've just been under a lot of stress."  
  
"It's fine. Just let me know when you want me to meet him."  
  
"Okay. Moving on, has Mrs. Schmidt gotten back to your position?"  
  
"No. I told her I didn't know where I would be when the information would come out, so I would just pick my letter up at the school. They said that they would call when they mailed the letter out."  
  
"Well, Kristy got hers yesterday. She made second chair."  
  
"Good for Kristy. She deserves it." Felicity said happily. " I'll have to call and congratulate Kristy. Maybe Ben listened to the machine and forgot to tell me that Mrs. Schmidt called. But that wouldn't make sense since Jane was suppose to be here today."  
  
"Jane?"  
  
"The hospice nurse that Social Services sends over."  
  
"Ah," Abby stated and glanced down at her pint of chocolate ice cream. "Well, I've eaten of this as humanly possible without barfing. You done?"  
  
"Yeah. Hey that movie about the eyeballs from space is supposed to be on tonight."  
  
"When?"  
  
"In about five minutes."  
  
"I haven't seen that movie in forever. Jackie took my copy of it to college."  
  
"That sucks of your sister to take your favorite movie."  
  
"I know. And every time I go up there, I look for it and it's not there. She says that she's hiding it."  
  
"That's just plain mean of your sister. Where you do want to watch it?"  
  
"My room, cause Ben said so."  
  
"That's a good reason why."  
  
"Yeppers."  
  
When Ben came in Felicity's bedroom the next morning to check on them, he found Felicity and Abby asleep in Felicity's bed, fast asleep with their heads touching.  
  
Flashback  
  
Patrice walked in Henry and Charlotte's room, only to discover Felicity sitting in the bedroom's window seat, knees together, staring out the window.  
  
"Felicity." Patrice called softly. Felicity turned and the look in her eyes broke Patrice's heart. She walked and sat down next to her.  
  
"Felicity," Patrice said again, this time blinking back tears, "it's time to go."  
  
Felicity looked up at her and asked quietly, "Do I have to go?"  
  
"Yes, sweetie."  
  
"Will you and Ben be there?"  
  
"Ben and I will be there every step of the way with you."  
  
"Promise?" Felicity's voice came out as a broken whisper, tears running down her cheeks.  
  
"Promise," Patrice stated and brought her baby brother's little girl into her arms. "I promise," she whispered into Felicity's hair.  
  
The funeral and the rest of the day Felicity could only remember images-- riding in the hearse with Ben and Patrice, holding onto their hands tightly throughout the service, her parents' flowers were tulips and lilies--her mom's favorite flowers--feeling the tears run down her cheeks as she followed her parents' caskets out of church, looking down at the two open graves with her parents' caskets resting in them, and for an odd reason the smell of peppermints. 


End file.
